*EPF206 09/25/01
State's Grossman on Terrorism: "No More Excuses"
(Speaks of building international coalition against terrorism) (650)
By Laura Brown
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The war against terrorism now getting under way is not just America's war but a struggle that everybody needs to be involved in, Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman told journalists September 24.

Briefing at the Foreign Press Center in Washington, Grossman defined the kind of coalition building that is needed to combat terrorism, saying, "it's about having countries stop and say that there are no more excuses about terrorism, that they have to choose what side they're on in terms of terrorism, and that countries will have to take actions ... against terrorism internationally, against terrorism in their own countries."

Pointing to a map showing 80 different countries that have lost citizens in the attacks, he remarked, "What happened on the 11th of September in New York, in Arlington, Virginia, in Pennsylvania was not just an attack on the United States of America, but really was an attack on the world."

As a prime example of national involvement, Grossman said Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf made a decision to support the anti-terrorist campaign because it was in Pakistan's interest to do so. "He didn't make it for the interests of the United States," Grossman said, "he made it because he had a choice to make between what was happening in Afghanistan, the fact that Osama bin Laden is the prime suspect for what happened on September the 11th, and the fact that around the world ... momentum had developed against terrorism."

Asked whether the United States would consider modifying its Middle East policies as a result of the terrorist attacks, Grossman said the United States has pursued a "principled policy in the Middle East for many, many years. It is not something subject to change."

He said President Bush and Secretary of State Powell have put "a huge effort and a huge amount of time" into bringing a "just peace" to the Middle East, and "I don't believe that this question of a world attack -- attack on the world -- should be put into the framework of the Middle East. That's not what this is about."

The under secretary said the United States has been pleased with the many statements of support from African countries, and also with the fact that many of them have taken "very substantial steps to protect our people, both official and private, in African countries."

"Don't forget," he added, "it was in Nairobi, it was in Dar es Salaam that one of these predecessor attacks took place. So, Africans ... not only lost people on the 11th of September but they lost people with us in those two embassy bombings, and know very well what Osama bin Laden is capable of."

Responding to concerns that the coalition targets Islam, Grossman explained, "This is not about Islam, it's not about Moslem countries, it's not about Muslims. This is about a desire on the part of the United States and like-minded countries to say to terrorism wherever it is, terrorism whomever it's against, terrorism against the United States and the world in this way really now has to cease."

The under secretary cited the many messages of condolences and pledges of help from countries around the world as "important symbols to the United States that there is solidarity in the world against this scourge of terrorism." He also praised the quick responses from NATO, the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of American States and other multilateral organizations that adopted anti-terrorism measures following the September 11 attacks.

"These multilateral declarations of support will very much form the basis for the kind of coalition we are trying to build," he said.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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